Violent Skies: Fourth but First – The Debden Eagles

Sat inside the cockpit with the engine rattling through your bones, you turn to engage. Managing your energy and fuel, can you gain position to get a shot off? Or will the bandit get the better of you? Sometimes it is better to disengage than push a losing fight.

Violent Skies is a solitaire game of aerial combat in the Second World War. Using a game card that acts as your Cockpit and also as a mission generator. The player and Bandit take alternating actions to try and get a shot on the opposition's aircraft.

Fourth but First puts you in the cockpit of the Fourth Fighter Group's pilots as they begin fighter operations for the Eighth Air Force Fighter Command. Built out of the Royal Airforce Eagle Squadrons, these young Americans volunteered to fight for the United Kingdom before America's entry into the war, becoming the nucleus of the Eighth Air Force's fighter force. This pack will take you from their RAF kites to the P-51 Mustang. As you move from fighter sweeps over France, to ground attack in support of Operation Overlord and finally duelling with the desperate efforts of the Luftwaffe's jet force. Can you survive escort missions over Berlin? Or the danger of ground attack? This edition of Violent Skies expands the system into USAAF efforts in North Western Europe to the war's end. Can you make it through all 7 Aircraft Campaigns and survive?

Each sortie lasts between 5-10 minutes, and the player has a logbook to advance their career. As the player completes a campaign, they have the option to keep the logbook and continue their career in different aircraft and theatres. Players of Violent Skies Season 1, and 2 can continue their pilots careers as a new year of war opens up, with new aircraft and new challenges. Go from the RAF to USAAF and continue your career.

All is needed is at least four D6, a small marker for the advantage track, and a pen or pencil for the logbook. Everything else is included in the minimal construction print and play PDF. Three optional counters are included and need to be folded and cut out but the rest is ready straight off the printer.

Included as flyable aircraft are the Spitfire MkVb, P-47D, P-51B/C and P-51D

Each aircraft comes with a sortie card (your cockpit and mission generator), campaign tables, optional damage table, Skills sheet and counters. Plus new ground attack rules to expand the system.

There are optional rules to track pilot Rank and Awards to further immerse the player in the role of a Second World War pilot.

There are Logbooks for the Luftwaffe and USAAF in low ink and full colour, as well as a detailed example of play.

.....and remember, watch out for the "Hun in the Sun".

—description from the publisher